STN - an observation

[lilrobb]

The setup (all connected):

40gal Breeder with 36" 6 bulb T5 on it (SPS tank)
90gal with 48" 8 bulb T5 on it (SPS tank)
30gal cube with 125W LED on it (softie + Acan + Anemone tank)

30gal sump
SWC 160 Extreme-S Mini skimmer

I had a little kalk mishap a while back that caused some tips to burn, and ever after that - the tanks are not the same.
I have seen a MASSIVE STN on 80% of my corals and have lost entire colonies to it.

Due to some restructuring I had to move certain pieces from thier SPS tanks to the LED-lit softie tank.

Not only did the STN stop, tissue had also started to grow back over the affected areas.

I claimed coincidence and didn't pay much attention.

A few weeks later I broke a medium size SPS by mistake and moved half of the coral to the cube, the other half remained in the 40gal.

The one in the 40 died, the one in the cube lived and has started to regrow.

Could light be one of the factors/cures for STN?
They were getting 250+ par under T5s and are now getting 600+ par under the LEDs...

Flow is about the same in all my tanks...

 

[mockery]

Interesting observation Robb. Could it be that t5/MH are harsher on the coral and leds are easier/softer on them?

One question about the par you gave though. Is the led doing 250 or 600?

LilRobb;715926 wrote:

Could light be one of the factors/cures for STN?
They were getting 250+ par under LEDs and are now getting 600+ par under the LEDs...
...

 

[lilrobb]

Corrected the typo

 

[snowmansnow]

You know.. I HAVE noticed this SAME sort of thing. I once had a smallish frag tank connected to my display. The frag tank was tied to it, but didn't share the substrate or the same lighting (obviously). It had pretty intense LED lighting over it.

I had a bout with necrosis a year or so back, and the colonies I managed to frag and move into the frag tank lived, but the ones that remained in the display (even though they were fragged and moved away from the colony perished).

QUESTION:

Does RTN / STN affect the ACTUAL tissue of the coral, or does it affect the zooxanthellae (which in turn causes a bleach of the tissue).

If it is the zooxanthellae I can see how a change of lighting COULD affect how the tissue degenerates.

B

Edit: and yes, before someone feels they must state it.. we realize that RTN / STN is a symptom of a bigger problem (sort of).

That being said... I have had it set in before while having all my parameters in very good condition.

B

 

[ripped tide]

This may be irrelevant, but what was the Kalk mishap? What spectrum t5s have you been using? How often are you changing them?

I am a firm believer that each coral has a very specific amount of light that is "natural" to them. Too little, and they are not happy, and too much and then They aren't happy. I speculate that a healthy specimen will be able to easily adapt to most of the common aquarium conditions(variable: flow, light, water parameter), but a stressed, or unhealthy(maybe shocked from the Kalk mishap) specimen, may decline in conditions that it would not normally be found in.

 

[dme330i]

What are the other variables (other than light)?

 

[ripped tide]

dme330i;716113 wrote: What are the other variables (other than light)?

There shouldn't be much, they are all tied together on one system. Mainly flow.

 

[mvm]

I have noticed that sps corals are slower to recover and are more likely to die after trauma under LEDs. Not sure why, buy any coral that falls, gets stung, browns out under LEDs eventually dies. Hhmmm....

 

[dme330i]

Ripped Tide;716117 wrote: There shouldn't be much, they are all tied together on one system. Mainly flow.

- inhabitants
- substrate
- return rate into each tank
- could the alk mishap have affected one tank more than the others?
- is the flow-through in each tank sufficient that the parameters are stable across all three?
- others?

 

[ripped tide]

MvM;716125 wrote: I have noticed that sps corals are slower to recover and are more likely to die after trauma under LEDs. Not sure why, buy any coral that falls, gets stung, browns out under LEDs eventually dies. Hhmmm....

I disagree. I have been using LED's since early April and am very pleaSed with growth. I've been able to recover quite a few sps after being in vho, t5, and halide. Maybe it depends on the individual fixture + h2o quality.

Edit:

dme330i;716126 wrote: - inhabitants
- substrate
- return rate into each tank
- could the alk mishap have affected one tank more than the others?
- is the flow-through in each tank sufficient that the parameters are stable across all three?
- others?

Touché!!!

 

[mvm]

Ripped Tide;716128 wrote: I disagree. I have been using LED's since early April and am very pleaSed with growth. I've been able to recover quite a few sps after being in vho, t5, and halide. Maybe it depends on the individual fixture + h2o quality.

I have 2 AIs over a 93 cube. They've been over the tank since May. I run a BB and h20 quality is not an issue, I assure you. But, there are so many variables, who knows...

 

[ripped tide]

MvM;716129 wrote: I have 2 AIs over a 93 cube. They've been over the tank since May. I run a BB and h20 quality is not an issue, I assure you.

Well I do not have the AI's. I have the ecoray112D plus 2x 24" aquatic life led strips over a 93cube(recently upgraded from a 50g{20"x20"x30"h}. How high above your tank are your lights? Robb may want us to start a new thread instead of using his. If you start one, I'll play along.

 

[lilrobb]

dme330i;716126 wrote: - inhabitants
- substrate
- return rate into each tank
- could the alk mishap have affected one tank more than the others?
- is the flow-through in each tank sufficient that the parameters are stable across all three?
- others?

Inhabitants as source for STN, please explain
Return rate - good point, one central pump is handling all tanks, 1600gph divided 1/2/3 (30, 40, 90)
Alk mishap, doubtful with one single return